211120-A-OK556-171

An aircrew operates a C-130 Hercules during training operations Nov. 20, 2021, at Young Air Assault Strip on South Post at Fort McCoy, Wis. The C-130 is from the 182nd Airlift Wing with the Illinois Air National Guard. The C-130 was flown by aircrews with the 169th Airlift Squadron out of Peoria Ill. Young Air Assault Strip, which has also been called Young Field, originally opened in October 1984. It was constructed by the 618th Engineer Company, 360th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division. The air strip was named after Pfc. Raphael Young, a member of the 618th who died in September 1984 while training on heavy equipment in advance of the mission to build the air strip. Young Air Assault Strip has been used for decades as a multiservice air strip that can be used in a variety of ways. It can replicate a terminal; used to receive process, and stage personnel, cargo, and equipment; or used as an austere airfield. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)